Buffalo Soldier, 1996 Acrylic on Canvas

Bernard Williams was born in Chicago and grew up on the south side of the city. He received a BFA degree from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana and an MFA from Northwestern University. In 1990, he began teaching at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Williams records in his paintings the complexities of the history of the American West by developing an extensive system of symbols and signs representing various cultures. Portraits of blacks from Western history are painted in bold acid tones and are often surrounded by grids of symbols and words--fragments of history. States the artist, "Of particular interest to me have been the Black Cowboys, Black-Indian relations, African and Native American arts, and the West as a place shared and constructed by multiple cultures, including Anglos, Hispanics and Asians."

Williams has received strong recognition both regionally and nationally. In 2003, he was awarded an Illinois Arts Council Artist's Fellowship. His work has been featured at the Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson, MS (2001), and the African-American Museum in Dallas, TX (2002). His work has been included in important group exhibitions of contemporary art including "Here and Now" at the Chicago Cultural Center (2002), as well as shows at the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Evanston, IL (2001) and the Dowd Fine Arts Gallery, Cortland, NY.

In 2004 Williams was awarded an 8-month residency at the prestigious Fine Arts Workshop Center in Massachusetts. His Cultural Cargo was commissioned for the Evanston Art Center's 2005-2006 Sculpture on the Grounds program and in September 2005 he had a one-person show at the Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL. In the spring of 2006, Williams completed a 4-month residency in Kohler, WI.

Mural commissions have been sponsored by a range of organizations and corporations including AT&T, GATX, Kraft Foods, the Snite Museum of Art of the University of Notre Dame, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Jackson (MS) Public School District. In the summer of 2006, Williams was awarded a Chicago Transit Authority commission on the CTA Red Line. Work is to be completed in December 2006.

Williams is represented by G.R. N'Nambi Gallery in Chicago.

"Blue Sky has given me more ideas about how I might work with youth in the future… more collaboration potentially. I would like to consider and develop totally new directions such as all collaborative works mixed with individual works, as well as think about more community involvement in my projects."